broadcasting acorns

Nebraskaz71

Nebraskaz71

Active Member
Anyone ever had luck doing this? I Have a small creek that i hunt through our farm, mostly puddles most years vs a creek but anyways its filled and I mean filled with poison ivy so I only venture into where I need to be, planting trees in it doesnt seem fun. Walked it today along the field and got to thinkn I wonder if i could just toss acorns into the weeds/trees if I'd have any luck? I Know last year the bur oak in my yard produced like 50 acorns and i swear I have 50 seedlings growing all over my place now where the squirrels burried them. I Have no acorns left to try it with this year but if I can get a hold of some is it worth the effort even?
 
If the squirrels, rats, hogs, turkeys, crows, etc...don't get them and they get soil contact I don't see why not...hard to get past all the stuff that likes them tho...
 
I have tried broadcasting several 100 SWO last year and to my knowledge not a single one germinated. Now that was in the woods and to be honest if they do grow it could be another 10 years before I notice. I am also trying a little project as well in a fescue patch where I tossed out the seed and then mowed and will apply cleth yet this year. Again not sure how it will work if at all, but I keep trying. My fear it that the only way I will really be able to broadcast acorns with any real chance of success is into a worked seed bed. IF you do as you say - I would suggest using a stick/rod or whatever to make a hole or push the acorn down into the soft ground. This will at least ensure good seed/soil contact. Getting enough sun to grow may be an issue without some sort of intervention on your part as well in my opinion. Just some things I had tried and observations I have had on my personal attempts. You may be better off planting bare root trees in the dormant season.
 
I've had good luck getting oaks started with a short (around 1ft) piece of PVC hammered into the ground a couple of inches and dropping the acorn inside. A folded piece of window screen pushed inside the top kept mice out. Almost all germinated but I didn't follow through and protect the seedlings enough to keep them from being topped off by deer.

So it wasn't as easy as just spreading acorns, but it was easy and had high germination rates.
 
They did this on midwest whitetail and you can go back and watch the episode.i had a nut planter but sold it.The issue Bill had when broadcasting was they came up but no way to control if they were 1ft apart or 10.You have to over plant to ensure proper germination.I would get a sapling planter and do it that way.I have planted several thousand.
 
I threw some Q robur seed down near a deer scrape camera as bait last fall. I was just trying t o get rid of them and they disappear quickly but to what I don't know. Therefore, I was surprised 2 weeks ago to see one sprouted by the scrape. Low deer numbers here may have helped.
 
catscratch said:
I've had good luck getting oaks started with a short (around 1ft) piece of PVC hammered into the ground a couple of inches and dropping the acorn inside. A folded piece of window screen pushed inside the top kept mice out. Almost all germinated but I didn't follow through and protect the seedlings enough to keep them from being topped off by deer.

So it wasn't as easy as just spreading acorns, but it was easy and had high germination rates.
Click to expand...

What size pvc did you use? Happen to have a pic of it in place?

Thinking of doing the same myself this fall.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I may give it a try if i can find some more acorns then, i just know the squirrels did the planting around my house and they all grew so maybe i'd have a lil luck
 
As I was planting seed near some loaded 12 year old Sawtooth trees Tuesday I thought "What would happen if several of those acorns were to find their way into the furrows created by my chisel plow?" Is there any way you could run some kind of plow thru the area, like one ripper on a box blade or something?
 
Folks, Lakngulf has the right idea. Rip one furrow and then go back and plant your acorns where you want them. Use a rake to pull dirt over the acorn and step it down firm.

Bill Winke broadcast acorns once but the squirrels just wore them out. I would probably stick the acorns twice as dense as I wanted them in case I lost germination. If you have too many trees come up you can select the ones you hope to keep.

Wayne
 
I have three large white oaks in my yard at home. Nearly every spring I mow down hundreds of little oak trees. It takes soil contact and for them to not be gobbled up by varmints.
 
In most cases germination isn't an issue when planted in full sun....it's protecting them. You either have to protect them or plant so many you simply overwhelm the deer! With a little "adaptive engineering" you could possibly turn a old school row planter into an acorn planter. Or do as was suggested and simply run a ripper and walk behind and push the seed into the ground. Again....germination will be decent in a good site. Keeping them from being gobbled up is the issue.
 
Waste of time. I would suggest, however, nuking the crap out of that poison ivy with glyphosate. I HATE that crap. I drive by it and get it.
 
catscratch said:
I've had good luck getting oaks started with a short (around 1ft) piece of PVC hammered into the ground a couple of inches and dropping the acorn inside. A folded piece of window screen pushed inside the top kept mice out. Almost all germinated but I didn't follow through and protect the seedlings enough to keep them from being topped off by deer.

So it wasn't as easy as just spreading acorns, but it was easy and had high germination rates.
Click to expand...
You should buy some tubes to protect them;) Sorry guys, inside joke:)
 
Tap said:
You should buy some tubes to protect them;) Sorry guys, inside joke:)
Click to expand...
Lol. If only shipping was an easy chore....
I've used some of them and they are working well. But it's early in the experiment so far. I can't see a reasonable way to get what I will want without cages.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk
 
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